Linux screensaver for Windows

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LiveCDs demonstrate that, yes, Linux can run under Windows

Chris Ward (tjcw@uk.ibm.com), Advisory Software Engineer, IBM

20 Dec 2005

Construct and package a Linux® LiveCD so that it will install using the standard Microsoft® Windows® install process and will operate as a standard Windows screensaver. Answering the most common concern about open source software, this article shows that, yes, Linux will run under Windows.
So why should you read this article? Why, indeed, should I write it? My motive is to help remove two obstacles to the wider adoption of free and open source software. Those obstacles are:

The perceived difficulty and disruptive effects of installing Linux
The uncertainty of hardware support for Linux
Most computer users are familiar with a Microsoft Windows environment and with the variety of screensavers available to prevent unauthorized access to the data on the computer when unattended.

There is sufficient free and open source software available nowadays to enable Linux to install and run as a Windows screensaver. This article shows you how to construct an appropriate CD or DVD, and in doing so, demonstrates that the “free” and “non-free” sides of the software Grand Canyon are not so far apart after all.

The examples in this article correspond to three current IBM objectives:

Concluding the OS/2 business
Reinventing education
Encouraging people to learn science

http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-scrnsave/

Posted in Technology Review, weblog.

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